That One Day Of That One Month
by AkaBaka-chan
Summary: Birthday fic. Rukia's going away again for another month or two, will Ichigo be able to sort out his feelings for the lieutenant before it's too late? No good at summaries...


**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH TITE KUBO DOES**

**Oneshot**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUKIA KUCHIKI!**

* * *

><p>"You're what!"<p>

She rolled her resplendent amethyst at his exasperated face and fought the urge to smack her own hand at herself. She had been sitting down on his desk chair, doodling on her sketchpad like she had always done so. Her eyebrows were scrunched downward showing her evident dismay and her cropped ebony hair swayed loosely with the sharp conclusive motion of her head.

"You heard me." she shot back in such a Kuchiki tone it made Ichigo remember her older brother who was more than ready to castrate him at any given time of the day.

"B-but-"

She narrowed her eyes at him and gave him the infamous Kuchiki glare. He may have kicked Aizen's ass to kingdom come and be the guy who kicked the first Substitute Shinigami's ass but the glare was one of the very few things he feared. He swallowed thickly as he tried to counter her reinforced glare.

Glowering at her did nothing for him apparently.

"Maybe I didn't say it clear enough Ichigo... I'm going back to Soul Society for a month or two because there's been a big outbreak in Rukongai and they need me there." she reiterated every word clearly to make sure there was no misunderstanding between them.

Kurosaki Ichigo deepened his scowl to almost impossible lengths and snappishly crossed his arms like a child having a tantrum. "You just got back! I mean... Hello? Seventeen months! The least you can do is stick around for a while." he retorted with the full force of his selfish temper.

Oh... There was that infuriating smirk of hers.

She stood up lithely and walked over to him, he was casually sitting on his bed, reading manga like he usually did whenever he spent the afternoon with Rukia. She placed her hands on her hips and and grinned. "Oh? Did you miss me that much? Well I'm not surprised, as soon as I came back you were on the ground weeping like a weakling. For your information Ichigo, I'm a lieutenant now or does that rank mean nothing to you?"

He spent one full minute glaring at her. "Guess you got cocky too when you got that insignia of yours."

"Bitter...?"

He looked away stubbornly. "Hell no!"

"Please Ichigo... I can see your jealousy very well from here."

He rolled his eyes, grabbed a pillow and covered his face with it as he lied down on the bed in furious indignation. His actions had only served to make her happier. "Fine... It's pretty cool that you're the lieutenant of squad thirteen considering... You know."

Shiba Kaien.

Rukia's smile turned into a more casual one as she sat on the edge of his bed and looked at his childish form. "It wasn't a walk in the park you know... I worked my ass off training just in case someone like Aizen came along. It wasn't easy convincing Nii-sama either... But all that hard work paid off in the end... I hope he's proud of me."

Ichigo knew very well who she was referring to.

"Of course he is. You're finally in his position, why wouldn't he be proud?"

She laughed through her nose and smiled. "What has seventeen months done to you?"

He smiled from underneath the pillow and considered kicking her off the bed, something he actually did after a few seconds of contemplating about it. Rukia let out a strangled noise as she hit the ground, her more refined reflexes allowed her to break her fall with much ease. As soon as she got up, she was glaring at him again.

"What? You kicked me first."

Rukia rolled her eyes as she remembered the first thing she did after he recovered his powers. "You deserved it."

"I did not... Well I was literally on the edge of my despair then... I honestly thought it was game over for me." Ichigo retorted through the thick fluffy pillow, his voice was somewhat muffled as a result.

"Alright alright... You lost your powers and just when you find some new ones, the people whom you thought were your friends took them away from you. I get it Ichigo." Rukia said in an irritated tone, her best attempt at sympathizing sarcastically but deep down, she knew the feeling of being powerless and she hated it just as much as he did.

The feeling of being unable to do anything and an unexpected betrayal to not just her but to soul society. She was going to be sentenced to death too, she may have had it worse but Ichigo cherished the power to protect much more than she did. Perhaps she had taken that power for granted before.

"Glad you understand." he shot back.

"It's my job to understand." she replied as she walked back to the desk chair and sat down accordingly.

"Your job?"

"Because we're friends aren't we?" she replied as though she were stating the obvious before she turned to face the opposite direction.

Ichigo tore the flaccid pillow from his face and gave Rukia a glance from where he was lying down. He had never paid much attention to Rukia's change in appearance. The lieutenant badge hanging of her arm was of some surprise to him but his shock was mostly overrun by his feelings of nostalgia. She looked like she had become an even better Kuchiki, Byakuya must've been treating her well, they seemed more close after seventeen months. She even wore a longer version of the Kuchiki gloves.

Not to mention that she actually cut her hair short, he had to make sure he was looking at Rukia but her face was unmistakable. That stubborn bang still stayed in place despite the new hairdo, she was still as milky white as ever and her amethyst eyes would never change. She had grown much more mature, enough for Ichigo to think about the way she looked.

When she was sitting there in a simple dress, she looked like an average teenager but she wasn't. She was a lieutenant of the prestigious Gotei 13, no joke about that.

But this was weird, why did she look so different to him now?

It's still just Rukia... Right?

He shook his head whilst completely obvious of the red tint staining his tanned cheeks. He sat up properly and continued on to read his manga, he then remembered how she used to read weird manga before. Then another question popped into his mind and he failed to restrain himself from verbalizing it.

"Do you miss the closet?"

"A little..."

"Seriously?"

She nodded without having to look at him. "Well... Every time I open the closet, you seem to get hit constantly. I've managed to step on you a couple of times and drag you around as soon as a hollow comes so I guess I kinda do miss it."

What a sadist.

"Che..." he scoffed as he turned away.

"Speaking of which... Where's Kon?"

Ichigo shrugged as he closed his manga. He faced her and found her looking back at him with those large purple eyes of hers, he shuddered softly and looked away quickly upon eye contact. "Don't know don't care." he replied snappishly.

Rukia smiled at the sight of the classic old Ichigo. He hadn't really changed much in terms of personality. His hair was still spiky and orange but it was a bit more tamed. He was even taller than before much to her dismay, that meant her little growth meant absolutely nothing now not to mention that he was a bit more cut than he was before. The features of his face were a bit more defined and she was able to notice his amber eyes a little more often.

She wasn't sure if noticing things she normally didn't pay attention to was a good thing or a bad thing when the subject in question was Ichigo himself.

Rukia kept her mouth shut and continued to doodle on in her little sketch pad, clearly keeping her thoughts to herself. Silence filled the room effortlessly and thankfully enough, it wasn't too awkward. It was a bit comfortable and nostalgic really rather than strange. The silence was so strong, Rukia could even hear Ichigo's faint music through his headphones and knowing him, he didn't like to make himself deaf so the silence truly was strong.

As usual, he was rocking to some punk. It was something she had learned to enjoy during her time in the living world. She liked listening to bands like BACK-ON or The Gazette, just like he did. The silence was broken with the untimely wail of the Shinigami Representative Badge.

As if on cue, Ichigo instantly pressed the badge against his chest as a reflex while Rukia quickly left her Gigai with ease. They stepped out via window and spotted the hollow quite easily, Rukia was much faster and much more agile than Ichigo so she arrived there first and without a moment's hesitation, she brought her Zanpakuto to the ground. Ichigo couldn't help but smile when he saw how strong she had grown, he also recalled that all those who are of lieutenant class and above had a limiter on them. This was only an eighth of Rukia's power now.

"You look strong Rukia." he commented.

She sheathed her Zanpakuto and sighed. She emphasized her badge towards him. "This thing isn't for show you know... It means I can whoop Renji's ass any day."

Ichigo laughed as he approached her after putting his Zanpakuto on his back. He wasn't thinking straight when he involuntarily ruffled her cropped ebony hair playfully. She quickly shoved his hand off to reciprocate the joke. "Oh I do not doubt your abilities Rukia."

"Then you're probably going to say something about my height again aren't you." she said as she narrowed her eyes at him.

He grinned at her. "Maybe..."

"Just as I thought."

He laughed and withdrew his hand calmly. He looked up at the shining full moon up in the heavens and enjoyed the beautiful evening. He then recalled how she was going away for another month or two the day after tomorrow. A sudden thought entered his head and he blurted it out without thinking again. His body was betraying him or something.

"Rukia... Are you free tomorrow?"

She looked at him weirdly. "I just came back to the living world, what makes you think I have plans?"

She really doesn't remember tomorrow's date does she...?

He smirked. "You do now. I'll take you out tomorrow before you leave."

Her eyes enlarged and genuine surprise was painted all over he pale face. Her lips were a straight flat line but then they began to curve upwards into a soft smile. "I'd love to Ichigo."

He had never imagined that those four words were enough for his own heart to race like this for the first time.

* * *

><p>As soon as Ichigo got down to the bottom floor in a sleepy laid back manner, he nearly slipped in surprise. He knew he told Rukia that they were going to have fun for the whole day and all but seeing her now, he had just realized what he had gotten himself into. Yuzu really went overboard this time with Rukia's clothes.<p>

He knew very well that she borrowed clothes from the twins but Yuzu wasn't really thinking that they were going out on a date was she? It wasn't a date at all, it was just an outing between friends. She was leaving again tomorrow after all.

Rukia had been a wearing a simple yet eye catching ensemble. It was still winter so she still needed to wear some warm clothes but these clothes looked good on her. She even made that Chappy scarf look good.

Ichigo had to fend off a blush and did so successfully just as Rukia had noticed him coming down. She smiled at him and Ichigo wondered why someone as pretty as Orihime barely fazed him when Rukia affected him.

Orihime was pretty, big busted, tall and had a nice personality and all.

Rukia was not cute, flat chested, short and had a foul personality.

Okay... Maybe she was a bit pretty...

He shook his head rather vigorously before sighing heavily. He pulled out a real smile at her and ruffled her hair to emphasize her height. She hated it but she kinda liked it when he ruffled her head like this. She had to remind herself that Ichigo was growing up, he wasn't that naive fifteen year old boy she gave her powers to before. He was now seventeen years old and he should be dating girls right now, he was at that age already and technically she was just as old as he was considering how slow she aged.

"I get that I'm short Kurosaki but that doesn't mean that you have to point that out every single time!" she snapped at him angrily.

Ichigo just grinned at her. "Oh? Looks like you've gotten taller midget." he said in a jesting tone but he was being serious.

She suddenly stopped protesting and looked at him in complete and utmost disbelief. Her amethyst eyes were wide open and her mouth was slightly ajar. "Who are you and what have you done to Kurosaki Ichigo?" she asked in complete horror.

He flicked her on the forehead.

Ichigo smirked and placed his hands in his pockets in a smooth manner. He gestured towards the door and began to walk leaving Rukia behind. "You can stay there and complain all day wasting your last day of relaxation before your mission or you can come with me and have some fun."

Rukia crossed her arms in an angry manner, her face and contorted into a pout and she began to stomp after him in furious indignation. "First you tell me you're gonna take me out now you're just gonna leave me here! How can you be such an ass!"

Yuzu let out an exasperate sigh as she closed the door for them. Looks like the two of them weren't going to change any time soon. Her fraternal twin walked up next to her and began to pat her softly on the shoulder. "Just when Ichi-nii finally mans up, he gets Rukia pissed." Karin sighed.

Yuzu nodded in agreement. "Ichi-nii isn't exactly like a kid anymore like seventeen months ago... He's at that dating age, it's only natural. And besides, this is Rukia-chan we're talking about. She's the one who had to suffer the most."

Karin suddenly grew silent before she looked at Yuzu in disbelief. "What do you know Yuzu?"

Her sister smiled at her. "Quite a lot of things."

Karin laughed softly. "You're my sister after all. My only issue with this whole thing is that maybe Ichi-nii is mistaking his feelings. He thinks he's yearning for her when in reality he just misses her."

"Well I don't think he'll make that mistake. Rukia has always been his friend and she had always been watching over him ever since she left."

"So you have seen her." Karin stated.

"It's the two of them we're talking about here... It's real. The feelings of longing... The feelings of being unable to see the person who matters to you the most. The pain of feeling neglected. The pain of being able to see someone yet that person is unable to see you. There are a lot of feelings that need to be settled and I don't think Ichi-nii can handle another month to wait." Yuzu said with true concern for her older brother.

Karin crossed her arms and smiled softly, it was uncharacteristic of her. "Rukia's his best friend... I doubt he's been this close to a person. Tatsuki's a different matter and I don't think Chad is this close either. They know each other on a personal level... It transcends all logic as we know it."

"One hundred yen, they're coming home holding hands."

"Really? Then I bet two hundred yen that they come home in denial."

"Three hundred says that they'll be hogged up in the room."

Karin grinned. "And four hundred yen says that they'll be kissing on the rooftop."

Yuzu shook her sister's hand.

"Deal."

* * *

><p>Rukia followed Ichigo with the loyalty of a terrier, she didn't exactly know where he was headed and she didn't exactly know her way back because she wasn't used to going to this side of town. She rarely came here and got lost easily whenever she approached this side of Karakura, she preferred going here with someone like Ichigo. She glanced at her metropolitan surroundings to find quite a few women and the occasional men eye them cautiously with envy.<p>

What was there to be envious of? They weren't an item; he wasn't even walking that close to her... Was he?

It wouldn't come as a surprise to her if her heart suddenly betrayed her by giving her some feelings for him. She had once thought of them as unnecessary but Ichigo broke everything ethical and transform them into the unethical. He shook should society but most of all, he shook her hardened heart. If she ever did possess such feelings, would she openly accept them?

She wouldn't be surprised but what if by the end of the day, she discovered that she did harbor such feelings yet they wouldn't be reciprocated.

She wasn't sure if she was able to face such rejection.

Especially if it was someone as dear to her as Ichigo.

She hung her head low as she followed him. Months of thinking about him had changed her view about him, she would never admit to him that she thought about him differently now. She would sorely miss his overbearing presence during her little mission hunting rogue Shinigami around the outskirts of Rukongai.

If only she could take him along with her, he'd have a field day.

She raised her head and found her directly looking at his broad back, she smiled softly and mentally smacked herself for thinking such thoughts. His back had never looked that broad before, or maybe it had been every single time he rescued her. Just like at the bridge towards the Shrine of Penitence, he looked really mature then before he turned around and ran his mouth.

Yet whenever she saw his back, she felt like he was leaving her behind. Even now, even as a lieutenant, she couldn't help but feel that he was going too far away and she wouldn't be able to stand by his side... Fighting alongside him. It was times like this where all she wanted was to stretch out her outstretched hand and reach for him just so that she wouldn't be left behind again. Ichigo was always too strong.

And just like that, she reached out and grabbed his jacket the moment they reached a crowded area. He stopped walking and turned around ever so slowly along with his calloused voice. "Rukia?"

She flushed red and withdrew her hand without a moment's hesitation. "I uh... I just figured that since this area was crowded, I might lose sight of you and you know I don't go here often."

"Point taken... It is a rather large area." he replied in complete agreement before backtracking to her side. "You won't get lost if I'm right beside you... Right?"

She nodded weakly. "Y-yeah..."

"Problem solved then..."

"So umm... Where are we going?"

Ichigo smiled at her. "You'll see... I'm pretty sure you won't mind the food."

She sighed. "As if you-"

"Know what you like?" he finished her sentence for her. Ichigo just rolled his eyes and continued to trudge on. "Cucumber? Tamagoyaki? There are way too many things you like to eat so I'm taking you to a really good modern Tokyo cafe. There's good food and it probably has your favorites, I'll bet the food here is way different from soul society."

Rukia laughed through her nose. "Right... You've never actually eaten there before other than when you ate at Kuukaku's... One of these days, I'll invite you over to Kuchiki manor." she declared with much pride.

Ichigo suddenly froze up and became all stiff like a block of ice. His eye twitched and his attempt at suppressing a shudder obviously failed. "N-no thanks... I'm fine here."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. "You won't have to see Nii-sama." she stated convincingly. "We're talking about high class authentic Japanese food here."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ain't gonna work." he scoffed at her.

"You have a will made of iron."

"And you have a will made of diamonds." he retorted with as much sarcasm as she had when she delivered her witty comeback.

Ichigo ended up laughing at her before some guy who was drunk in the middle of day came flying at them on the busy street. Ichigo quickly grabbed Rukia's petite hand and shoulder checked the guy, he sighed in relief and continued to drag Rukia out to the safe side of the huge sea of people. Rukia hadn't expected his hand to feel this warm; he could pass off for a human heater already. How could his hands not stay cold on the middle of January without any form of protection from the cold? It was like he naturally exuded heat like his hair had suggested, people who had fiery hair were said to be like the explosive sun after all.

Why not let loose for a bit?

Rukia reluctantly pressed her fingers against his large hand, now she was properly holding his hand as he maneuvered them out of the crowd. This wasn't exactly the first time she had held his time but it was the first time he had held her hand on an average day like this. She was still a girl after all; even she wanted to indulge on things like these.

Even if it was with Ichigo.

Fine... Maybe it was because it was Ichigo.

Ichigo finally got them out of the busy are and also, he had let go of her hand much to her dismay. She quickly stowed her hand away in to her pocket, it felt cold when he wasn't holding it. Still though, he was still beside her. She couldn't complain with that.

They finally arrived at that joint Ichigo spoke of, it was near the backside of town so not many people passed by it, as a result, it was secluded and quiet. They entered and Ichigo asked for a table for two, the waitress brought them to a nice quiet spot and they sat down like friends did. He was right, she would eat everything in this menu.

He knew her so well it hurt.

"You know me too well Ichigo." she admitted.

He grinned triumphantly. "You finally admit it... Thank you!" he said sarcastically.

She sighed before smiling at him. "But seriously... Thank you. This is really helping me out... It's just been so stressful with my new duties, I still haven't adjusted yet..."

"You'll do fine." he shot back encouragingly.

Rukia was about to reply to his words of encouragement before his Shinigami Badge began to wail annoyingly. Rukia groaned angrily and her eyebrows furrowed even deeper than usual as she stood up from the table. She found her soul candy and popped it in her mouth allowing Chappy to take her place. She had hoped that her replacement wouldn't try to rape Ichigo. "I'll take care of it... Duty calls."

She knew he wanted to come along but he had decided against it, he's such a smart boy now. She smirked as she exited the cafe momentarily. Luckily enough, the hollow was just literally around the corner, she suddenly appeared behind the hollow and when barely a split second had passed, the hollow had been split in half.

It took her a while to master it but she eventually leaned how to use Senka from her brother. Taking down the opponent in two places in one conclusive motion, the technique required one to be faster than the eye could see. It would normally target the two vitals of a Shinigami, seeing her brother look proud was a reward in itself when she mastered it.

Rukia quickly ran back to the cafe and entered, her artificial soul behaved for once and she was thankful. She reentered her body and Ichigo just had to comment. "That was awfully fast."

"I'm a Kuchiki, of course I'm fast."

Ichigo took a moment to ponder over the statement. "I should've known... You used that move Byakuya used to kick my ass when I still had a big-ass Asauchi right?"

She nodded as she found the glass of water by the corner of the table, she took it and sipped from it. "That's right."

He crossed his arms and frowned heavily. "Man, you two are getting more sibling-like as time passes... But, you sister would have been proud."

The food came momentarily and Rukia forgot all about the conversation the moment she saw how scrumptious her meal looked outside the picture. She hastily grabbed her chopsticks and began to eat with great enthusiasm. She wasn't looking when Ichigo brought up the camera of his phone but there was no way she would miss the white flash.

She glared at him as usual.

"Delete that."

"No."

"And why not?"

"Why should I delete my blackmail material?"

Her glare at him intensified even further.

"Nah... I'm keeping it."

"What for!" she snapped at him.

He stowed his phone in his pocket and looked away absentmindedly. "I can't tell you that."

She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Whatever."

Ichigo smiled at the odd pouty face she was making as he continued to eat his food, he would occasionally glance to her side of the table, she was still eating as enthusiastically as ever. She suddenly stopped and faced him as if she had a question to ask.

And she did have one.

"How do you know this place?" she asked, he could tell that she knew he wouldn't know about joints like these.

"Inoue told me... She said you'd love to eat here and told me to take you to eat here one of these days."

Her eyes widened ever so slightly. "Inoue did?"

Ichigo nodded as he propped up his elbow and rested his elbow on the palm of his hand. "I'm not surprised... You mean a lot to her too."

"I see..." Rukia said, looking downward with a soft smile playing on her lips. It took her a moment but she caught his little slip up.

He said too.

She grinned teasingly giving Ichigo a confused look. "Oh, does this mean I mean a lot to you Ichigo?"

He suddenly flushed red, it was the obvious tiny of red. He looked away but he was being totally honest. "You're my best friend."

Her grin slipped away and her mouth was slight agape. She blinked once before blinking again, she was surely taken aback by this. "Me?"

"What else do I call you?" he retorted stubbornly.

She tried to stifle her incoming laughter to no avail. Rukia just laughed at his dumb expression much to his embarrassment; he scowled heavily and gripped the table. "S-stop laughing!"

"I can't!" she shot back in between her laughter.

He suddenly shoved his had towards here and covered her mouth so she could finally stop laughing at him. Rukia furrowed her eyebrows and wretched his hand off her face, she didn't really let go of his hand. She smiled at him, resplendently.

"You're pretty important to me too... So don't go dying on me now Ichigo. Because if ever we meet in soul society, you wouldn't know me anymore and I don't think I can bear to have that happen." she admitted whole heartedly.

"Rukia..."

Before she could speak, that infuriating wailing interrupted them. She suddenly let go of his hand and stood up in an angry fit, her hand automatically found her soul candy and popped it in her mouth. She was out of her Gigai again, her usual lieutenant look was out in the open. Before Ichigo could protest, she was out of the cafe in a flash. He sighed as he began to absentmindedly stare at the hand she held.

He flexed his hand and shook his head.

"Damn..." he cursed under his breath as he continued to wait. "Stupid hollow."

* * *

><p>"Don't be mad Rukia... It was the hollow's fault for being at the wrong place at the wrong time."<p>

She trudged on in a really bad mood with Ichigo struggling to keep up with her rather fast walking speed. He groaned exasperatedly as he increased his speed and grabbed her arm, stopping her. She turned around and looked at him with a semi-pissed look. "What?" she asked in pure irritation.

"What's your problem?"

She inhaled and exhaled deeply. "The hollows for starters... I was hoping I could have at least one day of peace but no... I'm a lieutenant so that means I'm even more obligated to get rid of the hollows." she stated in an angry tone, it reminded Ichigo of his Shinigami substitute days. Back when Rukia was powerless.

Ichigo suddenly grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. Rukia suddenly fell silent and was explicitly embarrassed unless her the red hues were not obvious enough. She struggled to form a straight retort and when she finally did, she stuttered.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

He smirked. "Calming you down. It just worked now didn't it?"

She nodded limply, holding his hand like this was way different from earlier. This time their fingers were intertwined like those couples they always saw on their spare time. He actually had the brass to do something like this, the question was whether he was being a dense idiot as usual or was he finally sending her signs.

She couldn't tell because he was acting like his usual reckless self.

Since when was he so complicated?

She usually knew what he was thinking in two seconds flat.

She breathed in and out softly, she was now a bit calmer. "Tawake..."

"We're not done yet Rukia... There's that new theme park that opened a few days before you left." he said with much enthusiasm.

Rukia cocked her head to the side like a curious child and began to think very hard. She vaguely remembered Keigo the idiot mention a new amusement park and something about it being a good date spot but Ichigo wouldn't really do that would he...?

"Right..."

"Come on then." he said hastily as he dragged her by her hand.

"W-wait! I-Ichigo, why are we going there!" she blurted out.

"Well, I won tickets from a raffle thing a few days back. It's two tickets to go watch SCANDAL perform in the livehouse inside the amusement park. You like SCANDAL don't you?" he replied confidently.

All she could do was nod. "How did you-"

"You didn't take your CD's and your walkman with you. When I was cleaning up, I saw all three albums of SCANDAL along with a few singles." he replied as though he was stating the obvious.

"It's not too far from the skating rink right?" she asked.

"Yeah... Hey, speaking of skating, do you wanna try skating again?" he asked with much enthusiasm.

He was being so nice today, it was uncharacteristically scary.

"If we have the time" she replied sensibly.

Ichigo led her towards the direction of the amusement park, according to him, the show was a three so they had an hour or two to play around in the park. It took a while of walking but she couldn't complain when he was holding her hand like this. He knew her way too well, he knew her favorite foods and he also had to know about her favorite band. She liked this particular group because it was empowering for women.

They finally arrived and Ichigo got them in smoothly thanks to those tickets he had won by pure luck. As soon as they were in, Ichigo quickly got a map of the attractions. "What looks good to you midget?"

She allowed the snide comment to slide. "This looks fun." she replied as she pointed her finger towards the water raft ride.

Right... Rukia's a sucker for anything thrilling since her brother had always kept her safe and confined at the Kuchiki manner whenever he could, Ichigo thought.

He grinned. "I'll take you wherever you want to go."

From then on, Rukia forgot all about her initial worries and let loose. She literally and figuratively dragged Ichigo to every ride she had wanted to ride. It was fun since he wasn't complaining and he was joining in on the fun too. He was the one who told her that it was ten times more fun to scream when riding a rollercoaster and he actually gripped the bar when the raft ride made a steep dive. It such a funny sight that would forever be recorded on a camera.

Rukia, being the fearless lieutenant she was, she ended up coaxing Ichigo to go to the haunted house with her and he reluctantly agreed. It wasn't that he was scared of spooky stuff, he just didn't want to laugh at Rukia in the unlikely event she screamed. She would have his head for laughing. Once they were through, she had managed a brave front but she ended up clinging onto his arm in the end.

Her face was priceless.

Rukia was literally at the brink of death back at Hueco Mundo and in Soul Society yet she was scared of a few things like these.

He bought her some rabbit shaped ice cream as they took a breather from all the rides before they entered the carnival area of the park. Rukia had perfect accuracy when it came to ring toss games but the same couldn't be said about the actual shooting games. She absolutely sucked whenever she held a faux rifle; she even demanded that Ichigo won the huge Chappy look-alike hanging on the top shelf of the prizes section.

He took the gun from her and managed to get the necessary points for her stuffed toy effortlessly. He was always good at games like these so winning that thing was a cinch. She was practically hugging the thing already, it was truly adorable.

A hardened Kuchiki was hugging a pink fluffy bunny rabbit.

She was a lieutenant of the honorable Gotei 13 to boot.

After fooling around at the in-park arcade, they left the vicinity. They were now headed to the livehouse to see Rukia's favorite band, Ichigo was half hoping he would get the chance to hear Rukia sing for once. He was hoping she had a beautiful voice but then she could've been like Inoue. Pretty face with a not so outstanding voice but this was Rukia we're talking about.

Ichigo held her had again when he saw the massive crowd just outside the venue, since Rukia was er... below the average height, losing her would be way too easy. He found the ticket booth and presented their tickets; the girl behind the glass tore their tickets and returned it to them accordingly. They finally made their way inside and found that there were a bunch of people inside.

Ichigo felt Rukia clutch his hand and he smiled. "It's okay... You won't get lost little midget." he teased.

She stomped on his foot painfully. "Shut up you."

"Excited? It's your first live after all."

She nodded. "The feeling is overwhelming... The atmosphere is just simply exciting... I really can't wait to hear them..."

"That's how it should be." he stated as he looked towards the stage.

A few more minutes had passed and the background music finally stopped. The crowd cheered the moment SCANDAL came on energetically. Rukia was cheering as loudly as she could as SCANDAL began to play on their instruments to hype up the crowd.

Haruna, the lead vocalist and backup guitar began to introduce the group. Mami was the lead guitarist and Tomomi was the bassist but she was the backup vocalist, she mostly wrote the songs. Rina was the drummer at the back but Haruna made sure everyone had the spotlight.

Eventually, they kicked it off with their latest single Harukaze.

Even if Rukia was gone for a while, she caught up with their latest music. She was singing to their songs word for word. Ichigo vaguely remembered hearing this song on the radio so he tried to sing along whenever he could. Once the song was over, they began to play another one. Ichigo didn't recognize the song but Rukia did and it seemed like such a mellow song.

It was all about fleeting summer romances. For some reason, the idea of the song grabbed something in his heart.

"Maybe if things were different... I would have a chance with you Rukia..." he mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be swayed by the music.

'I knew I wouldn't be able to say it. Even now, I love you. Goodbye, my friend'

'Two shadows on bikes in the evening. A cool wind blows, like when summer break ends. I can see you again tomorrow, but strangely, I'm lonely. Let's take the long way home today'

The emotions of this song felt familiar to him.

'It wasn't enough just to be nice. It was empty just being fun. For whatever reason when I'm in front of you I'm always putting up a front. Before summer break ended. There was something I wanted to tell you, but If you've already mentioned it again, you can't go back. I knew I wouldn't be able to say it. Even now I love you. I'm sorry, my friend'

'Your messy room where we last kissed

The memories disappear with my half-eaten ice cream. The things I noticed next to me. The things I lost all piled up. I grew up a little bit and there were things I didn't want to know too.'

'You're my friend, now you're just... You're just my friend. Loud enough to drown out the sounds of the huge fireworks. Our love song that no one else can hear whenever our eyes meet. Whenever you call my name, I cry before summer break ended. There was something I wanted to tell you, but when something breaks again, you can't go back. I knew I wouldn't be able to say it. Even now I love you. Goodbye, my friend'

He kept his eyes closed.

* * *

><p>Ichigo and Rukia walked back home in complete silence, right after the mini-live, they decided to head back seeing as though all of their energies had been spent. The silence was quite comfortable so the two didn't mind, on their way back, it began to drizzle ever so slightly. Ichigo stopped walking and lifted a hand up to feel the rain.<p>

"Let's walk faster." Rukia suggested as she looked up to the darkened sky preventing them from viewing the brilliant sunset.

"Yeah." he replied as he continued to walk on.

They finally reached their side of Karakura and the gray skies had yet to clear up. They even passed by the high school and remembered the number of times something special had happened in this particular hour. There were too many memories to count. They stopped to look at the building and Rukia took this opportunity to speak.

"It's been a while."

"Yeah..."

"I can remember attending school like it was just yesterday. Eating lunch at the rooftop, fooling around with friends. Beating Keigo up... It was really fun. I enjoyed it." Rukia mentioned, there was some warmth to her tone.

"It was a bit boring without you there." Ichigo admitted.

"I was always jealous of you guys." she said, her gaze was unwavering.

"Why?"

"I've never had such luxury. I died when I was a mere infant... I've never grown up with a real family and all my family was then was Renji and my friends. My academy days weren't the best either, I was in constant jealousy of Renji who was in the advanced class... When I was adopted by the Kuchiki clan, I felt like an outcast and the only one who treated me well in squad thirteen was Kaien-dono... When he was gone... I've spent the next fifty years doing absolutely nothing. My big break was when I was asked to patrol Karakura... But even that was organized by Aizen."

"But... You met us Rukia. Me, my family... Chad, Ishida, Inoue and so much more... You've been taken captive and rescued, you rescued your friend and you helped take down Aizen. Look at you now Rukia, you're a lieutenant and Byakuya thinks of you as his real sister. I should be jealous of you Rukia." he replied in order to cheer her up.

She laughed through her nose. "As idiotic as ever."

"Ah..."

The sky thundered and lightning came, soon after, the rain came pouring in and they began to make a run for it towards the school complex where there was shelter from the rain. The sat down on the front entrance of the school and took that moment to catch their breaths. Rukia shook her head vigorously so as to shake off some of the water while Ichigo watched the rain pour down.

"I'm sorry it had to rain Rukia." he apologized.

"It's not your fault."

He sighed. "But it's your birthday." he said.

"True... Wait what!"

He winced at her sudden outburst and narrowed his eyes at her. "It's your birthday Rukia. Today's January 14 in case you've suddenly gone senile in your old age."

She looked at him in disbelief but she was more surprised with herself. She massaged her temples with vigor as she began to swear to herself. "How could I have forgotten my own birthday?"

"It happens."

"No wonder why you were so nice today. It was because it's my birthday, I glad and surprised that you remembered."

"It's what friends do."

"I still haven't gotten my present."

He scowled. "What about Chappy and the date?"

"That doesn't count... And wait, did you say date?"

He flushed red and looks straight forward. "No."

"You just did."

"Did not."

"You did."

"Did not."

"So this is a date after all... You've really grown up haven't you Ichigo." he teased.

He glared at her. "Shut up."

She smiled as she faced him. "On second thought... I'll just take my gift for myself."

"Wha-"

He was cut off by Rukia herself. Her petite fingers were clinging into the nape of his neck, pulling him forward and her soft lips were pressed against his warm chapped ones, his eyes were wide opened and he saw that her eyes were closed. She finally let him go and she smiled at him a smile he had never seen before. "What I would like for my birthday is to go a little father than just friends. You're too old to play this game Ichigo."

His mouth was agape and his eyes have never been wider. "I- I... Y-you j-just but..."

She rolled her eyes. "Speak properly."

"You kissed me."

"Wow, such a very vivid observation. I'm beginning to regret wasting my first kiss on you." she stated jokingly, his face was way too priceless.

She looked up at the sky. "Looks like it was one of those short lived rain showers... it's drizzling now." she said as she extended her hand towards him. "Shall we get going?"

He took her hand absentmindedly and she lifted him up. She dragged him out of the school premises and continued to drag him since he was unable to walk let alone register what Rukia had done to him properly. Finally, they were in front of the Kurosaki Family Clinic, the sky had cleared up and it was bright orange.

Then he saw that corner in the midst of his absentmindedness.

The corner where he first received his powers.

Now he understood what he had wanted.

He stopped walking altogether making Rukia looked back, he pulled her towards him and he trapped her against the opposite wall. Her amethyst eyes read confusion but that was to be expected, the intensity of his gaze made Rukia shudder.

"You can't get away with that. Let me give you your birthday present for real."

He leaned down and kissed her properly, the way a boy should kiss a girl. Ever so slowly, her arms found their way around his neck and his hands slid down from leaning against the wall to slowly going around her thin waist.

On the second floor of the house, the twins were watching them attentively. Both had contented smiles on their faces as they watched two of their favorite people kiss.

"It's still sunset... This bet ain't over Yuzu."

"I know... Now how do we keep this from daddy?"

Karin fell silent. "We don't."

Yuzu laughed. "Good luck then Ichi-nii."

And thus new memories were made in the rain.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this oneshot was made for Rukia's birthday and I struggled to finish it on time. In fact, I finished it today and I feel proud for reached her birthday. Yes it's a birthday fic and I've always loved listening to SCANDAL. The song is called Sayonara My Friend and I want you guys to listen to it because it's so heartwarming.<strong>

**Harukaze is the latest Bleach ending and Mask by Aqua Timez is an amazing song. The latest ending is really nice and you get to see Ichigo smile warmly, Rukia's in the ending too rocking her new look, she is gorgeous in the anime.**

**I've also made references to episode 342 of bleach.**

**So I hope you guys enjoyed this.**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


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